Prithviraj, younger son of the famous Malayalam actor the late Sukumaran and actress Mallika, is the rising star of Malayalam cinema after  Mammootty and Mohanlal. Prithvi did his schooling from the Sainik School and the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in Thiruvananthapuram. He was doing his  Bachelor Degree in Computer Engineering at the University of Tasmania,  Australia when he came into the film world. During one of his vacation trips to Kerala, director Fazil introduced him to screen playwright  Renjith who was searching for a new face in his first directorial venture. Ranjith impressed by him offered the lead role in his film  'Nandanam' (2002). So he discontinued his studies and concentrated on acting. Quite early in his career, Prithviraj was fortunate to act in films directed by leading directors in the Malayalam film industry such as Lohitadas, Vinayan, Kamal and Bhadran.

Prithviraj managed to win the hearts of the Malayalam film audience thraudience thoroughly itself, especially that of female viewers. He had a definite edge over other younger heroes with his good looks- he was tall, had a good moustache and acting talent - he could do both action and romantic roles with panache.
After the fantastic performance in 'Nandanam' he got  several  offers.  His list oearlyf sterling performances include films like 'Stop  Violence' (2002), 'Vellithira'  (2002), 'Meerayude Dukham Muthuvinte  Swapnam'(2003), 'Swapnakoodu' (2003), 'Vellinakshatram' (2004),  'Akale'(2004), 'Daivanamathil'(2005), 'Ananathabhadhram'(2005) etc. In  2006, Lal Jose's 'Classmates' was released and it turned out to be one  of the biggest blockbusters in Malayalam cinema. After pulling off the  role of a corrupt police officer quite well in Vargam (2006), Prithviraj  acted in another film 'Vaasthavam' with the same director, M.  Padmakumar and again it was a hard hitting drama and Prithviraj got  noticed for his intense acting. As Balachandran Adiga in Vaasthavam,  Prithvi once again proved that he is here to stay.

He made his Tamil debut in cinematographer K V Anand's film 'Kana  Kandein' (2005) in which he did a negative role. After 'Kana Kandein'  Prithviraj has his share of fans in Tamil Nadu too. His second Tamil  film 'Parijatham' directed by veteran Bhagyaraj, gave Prithvi the break  he needed. In the wake of the success of Parijatham, Prithvi has become  one of the most sought-after heroes in Tamil cinema. Another noted Tamil film was 'Mozhi', produced by Prekash Raj, in which he was paired with the leading heroine, Jyothika.
He is the youngest actor to receive the Kerala State Award for the Best  Actor. Among the current crop of new faces in Malayalam cinema,  Prithviraj is definitely the most bankable star.